The Hunt for Hidden Sugar

How Much of the Sweet Stuff is Hiding Your Foods?

Ready for a little experiment? Grab that jar of sugar, a measuring spoon, a plate and a can of regular soda. Then, dump one teaspoon of sugar onto the plate. Repeat this nine more times. Do you know what you have, besides a mess? The amount of sugar in one 12-ounce can of soda! Just look at that mound!

Now locate the sugar listing on the soda's nutrition label—40 grams. Four grams of sugar equals one teaspoon. Do the math. That innocent can of pop contains 10 teaspoons of sugar and 160 empty calories.

Even if you don’t drink regular soda, the typical American now eats the equivalent of about 17 teaspoons (68 grams) of added sugars every day. That sugar alone adds up to 270 extra calories—more than 13% of the average person's caloric intake.

Less is More

So how much should you be limiting these added sugars? Several health organizations, such as the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the World Health Organization and the American Heart Association have established guidelines regarding the intake of added sugars. A healthy eating pattern should limit added sugars to less than 10 percent of calories per day. This does not include naturally occurring sugars found in fruits (fructose) and dairy products (lactose). The chart below lists this maximum recommended daily sugar intake based on various calorie levels.

Maximum Sugar Intake
(10% of Calorie Intake)

Daily CalorieIntake

Calorie LimitfromAdded Sugars

Grams ofAdded Sugars

Teaspoons of Added Sugars

1,200

120

30

7.5

1,500

150

37.5

9.0

1,800

180

45

11

2,100

210

52.5

13

2,400

240

60

15

2,700

270

67.5

17

Deciphering Labels

It can be confusing to try to find out how much added sugar a food contains. The sugar listing on a Nutrition Facts label lumps all sugars together, including naturally-occurring milk and fruit sugars, which can be deceiving. This explains why, according to the label, one cup of milk has 11 grams of sugar even though it doesn't contain any sugar “added” to it.

To determine how much sugar has been added to a food product, follow these two tips:

Refer to the chart below for approximate amounts of hidden sugar in foods.Check package nutrition facts label and ingredient list for greater accuracy on specific brands.

Hidden Sugars in Foods

Food

Serving Size

Added SugarTeaspoons

Added SugarGrams

Beverages

Cranberry Juice Cocktail

1 cup

7 ½ tsp

30 g

Lemonade

1 cup

7 tsp

28 g

Soda Pop

12 ounce can

10 tsp

40 g

Sports Drink

20 ounce bottle

8 ½ tsp

34 g

Sweet Tea

1 cup

5 ½ tsp

22 g

Breakfast Foods

Breakfast Toaster Pastry

1 pastry

4 - 4 ½ tsp

16 – 18 g

Cereal Fruit Bar

1 bar

2 ½ - 3 tsp

10 - 12 g

Chocolate Puffed Cereal

1 cup

3 ½ tsp

14 g

Coffee cake

4 oz piece

5 tsp

20 g

Frosted Shredded Wheat Cereal

1 cup

3 tsp

12 g

Fruit Ring Cereal

1 cup

3 tsp

12 g

Glazed Doughnut

1 doughnut

4 tsp

16 g

Granola Bar

1 bar

2 tsp

8 g

Honey Coated Cereal

1 cup

3 tsp

12 g

Instant Sweetened Oatmeal

1 packet

3 tsp

12 g

Desserts

Angel Food Cake

4 oz piece

7 tsp

28 g

Banana Cake

4 oz piece

2 tsp

8 g

Brownie, no icing

1 oz piece

4 tsp

16 g

Cheesecake

4 oz piece

2 tsp

8 g

Chocolate Cake, iced

4 oz piece

10 tsp

40 g

Chocolate Chip Cookie

1 cookie

2 tsp

8 g

Cupcake, iced

4 oz piece

6 tsp

24 g

Fig Newton Cookies

2 cookies

2 tsp

8 g

Gingersnaps

1 cookie

3 tsp

12 g

Oatmeal Cookie

1 cookie

2 tsp

8 g

Vanilla Pudding

½ cup

5 tsp

20 g

Candies

Chocolate Candy Bar

1 bar

4 ½ tsp

18 g

Chocolate Mint

1 piece

2 tsp

8 g

Condiments and Sauces

BBQ Sauce

2 tablespoons

3 tsp

12 g

Jam and Jelly

1 tablespoon

2 ½ - 3 tsp

10 – 12 g

Ketchup

2 tablespoons

2 tsp

8 g

Pasta or Spaghetti Sauce

½ cup

2-3 tsp

8-12 g

Salad Dressing

2 tablespoons

½ - 1 tsp

2-4 g

Other Foods

Bread, Whole Grain

1 slice

1 tsp

4 g

Crackers, Whole Grain

16 small crackers

1 tsp

4 g

Peanut Butter

2 tablespoons

¾ tsp

3 g

Tomato Soup

1 cup

3 tsp

12 g

Vanilla Yogurt

8 ounces

3 tsp

12 g

There is room to include a small amount of added sugars in your eating plan to improve the palatability and flavor of nutrient-rich foods—a sprinkle of brown sugar on your morning oatmeal or a dribble of honey in tart plain yogurt. However, the main sources of added sugars like sugar-sweetened beverages, sweets and snacks, need to be limited. These type foods provide little nutritional value to one’s diet but may be adding a substantial amount of unwanted calories.

Never thought about sugar and reading labels till challenged thru SparkPeople. Thank you. I had given up condiments due to salt. Just to see since watching the sugar now was AMAZED what is in those. BBQ sauce which is a serving of 2 T. has 11g of sugar. One more gram would make a serving half sugar! This is just so wrong!

The sugar isn't exactly hidden if it's on the label. You do need to know all the different forms if the sugar content is important to you. Calling something cane juice is not hiding the sugar- actually some people are allergic to sugar cane but not to sugar beets and react to the traces of the source in the juice or crystals, so revealing the exact source of the sweetener is very helpful.

Definitely separating sugars into added and naturally occurring will be very helpful on nutritional labels, but remember that naturally occurring sugars are still sugars. If your body has trouble with sugars in general, you still have to be careful. Combining fruits with protein often is suggested for diabetics, since that alters the absorption rate (which is helpful in diabetes). I would assume that fat may have the same effect. One more reason peanut butter is good food.... Apples and peanut butter!

You can guess the relative amount of the added sugar by looking at its position on the label. In the US, ingredients are listed in order of content. At the end of the list, they may give ingredients that are less than 2% of the total.

About The Author

Becky Hand
Becky is a registered and licensed dietitian with almost 20 years of experience. A certified health coach through the Cooper Institute with a master's degree in health education, she makes nutrition principles practical, easy-to-apply and fun. See all of Becky's articles.

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